Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Price Target Cut to $345.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at Citigroup from $373.00 to $345.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.93% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on APD. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.6 %

APD stock opened at $295.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $65.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1-year low of $227.53 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $312.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $308.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 over the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fire Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $715,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,775 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,545,000 after buying an additional 2,352 shares during the last quarter. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $661,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 367,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,694,000 after acquiring an additional 132,639 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.